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1877 Joyner-Calloway House

About the BUILDING

Emily Joyner, a Civil War widow, purchased this house and lot in 1877 for $125. The original lot was along Jerger Street, about the current location of a cooking shed on the Museum’s grounds. The house itself is an adaptive re-use structure: Ms. Joyner had two slave or servant quarters loaded on logs, and moved to her lot, where the small hallway was built to join the two quarters together.

When the Ewart family purchased the rest of the block in 1893, Emily Joyner refused their initial offer. She finally sold to Ewart in 1895 for the greatly inflated price of $1000. The Ewart family then used this house for the maid’s quarters and moved the house to its current location at the corner of Jerger and Crawford. Joyner used the proceeds from the sale to build a larger, nicer house at the corner of Dawson and Washington Streets.

The property was purchased by the Flowers family in 1909, and they moved their children’s nanny Matilda King Calloway into the little house. Miss Calloway lived in the cottage until her death in 1948, after which it was used as a guest cottage by the Roberts family.

About the TOUR

The building contains more than thirty-five exhibits about the history of Thomas County, as well as the document, photo, and three-dimensional archives that provide the material evidence of what happened in Thomas County’s past.

A guided tour of the Museum grounds begins with a twenty-minute video documentary of Thomas County’s history, with an emphasis on the Victorian-era hotels and the dozens of plantations scattered around Thomas County.

Your docent will then walk you through the 1870 Rufus Smith log house, which was moved to Museum grounds in 1974, and provides a setting to share the story of both the Smith family and yeoman farmers of the period.

From there, you will walk to the 1877 Emily Joyner house, and hear the story of both the Civil War widow who first lived there, and the Flowers’ family nanny, Matilda Calloway, who lived there during the first half of the twentieth century. After the Joyner house, you will visit the 1896 Oliver Ewart bowling alley, built to entertain the winter resident who owned the Museum’s property from 1893-1900.

Following the bowling alley, you will go to the 1940 Roberts’ Garage, which currently houses two Model T cars and two Victorian-era carriages. After the garage, you will return to the Flowers-Roberts House for a self-guided tour of the Museum’s many exhibits, including the timeline-style exhibits in the large Davis Wing addition at the rear of the house.

Schedule Your Guided Tour

Use the contact form to schedule your guided tour today. *Completing this form does not guarantee a reservation slot. After submitting the form someone from our office will contact you and finalize your reservation.